Joey Payeur
VanJura was awash in feel-good vibes Monday evening—even in the dugout of the conquered.
From those playing for loved ones to those finding redemption, there was no shortage of emotion-charged stories to tell after the No. 1-ranked Fort Frances Her-icanes’ 9-7 victory over the No. 6-rated Red Gut Babes in the second-and-deciding game of the Rainy River District Women’s Fastball League final.
Fort Frances, which lost the 2013 final to Red Gut, finished the double-elimination playoffs on a five-game winning streak after losing their second-round game to the Emo Renegades that left them teetering on ouster.
“We did it,” beamed teary-eyed captain Stacy Patey, whose stepfather, Bill Caul, passed away early in the team’s playoff run.
“It feels really good,” she added. “We worked really hard and played good as a team.
“We focused on staying positive and keeping everyone pumped up.”
Meanwhile, Babes’ catcher Kayla Windigo and centre-fielder Taylor Windego kept stiff upper lips despite not getting one win in two games of the final they needed after emerging from the winners’ side bracket.
“We were hoping to do what we’ve done in past years,” noted Windigo, referring to Red Gut’s titles in 2013 and 2014.
“But being sixth at the end of the regular season, reaching the final was our goal,” she added.
“I’m very happy.”
“They’re good hitters over there and they got a couple over our heads,” said Windego.
“We used our speed to our advantage as best we could to get on base and get ourselves over to third to get brought in.”
As happened in Game 1 last Wednesday at Red Gut, a mistake-prone first inning once again left the ’Canes trailing Monday evening.
Four errors, including a passed ball by Charity McMahon on a third strike and a wild pitch by Tracy Morningstar, catapulted the Babes, who beat the ’Canes in the 2013 final—to a 4-0 lead that included an RBI groundout by Alyssa Windego and an RBI single by Babes’ starting pitcher Lynn Windego.
But Jess Woodgate wasn’t going to let that lead go unchallenged.
With her mother, Lori, watching from the stands after finishing her final chemotherapy treatment last week, the centre-fielder ripped a blast deep to right that ended up being a two-run, inside-the-park home run that also scored Dana Ward, who had singled to lead off the inning.
McMahon, whose sister, Erin, went into hospital for major surgery earlier in the day, kept the inning going by beating out an infield hit down the third-base line with two out, although the rally stalled with the bases loaded.
Morningstar, as she did in Game 1’s 9-6 win last Wednesday, went into shutdown mode after that rocky first inning against the team she left during off-season by allowing just one hit over the next three innings.
That gave the ’Canes the chance to get back on even ground.
They cut the lead to 4-3 in the second when Ward singled, took second on a wild pitch, and scored when Kamryn Singleton was handcuffed by Morningstar’s scorching line drive to left that hit her glove and bounced away.
Then in the fourth, Woodgate reached on Beulah Perreault’s throwing error from second base over to Mel Jones, one of two fill-ins at the corner infield positions for Red Gut after Game 1 injuries left starters Gail Windego (first) and Anita Johnson (third) unable to play.
Morningstar’s grounder pushed Woodgate to third before Patey ripped a single up the middle to tie the score.
Red Gut reclaimed the lead in the fifth when, with one out, Kayla Windigo walked and stole second before Alyssa Windego was hit by a pitch.
Lynn Windego then delivered an RBI single before Alyssa Windego scored on Perreault’s RBI groundout to make it 6-4.
But the ’Canes erupted for five runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.
Laureen Hill led off with a walk to bring up Caylee Woolsey, who belted a waist-high fastball for an RBI triple.
“We worked really hard and it all came together,” noted Woolsey.
“Most of us have played together since the beginning and it’s good that we all peaked at the same time,” she added.
“The bottom of our batting order, we had our own little joke going between us, but we knew we would pull through when we needed to,” Woolsey said.
Patey couldn’t hide her pleasure for Woolsey’s success.
“Caylee was struggling with her confidence for a few games, but she kept her head up and went for that pitch and let it ride.”
Amy Penner then walked and stole second to put two runners in scoring position for Natalie Dal, who promptly drilled a hot shot towards first base.
Jones had it skip off her glove and roll away—giving Woolsey time to race home with the tying run.
Perreault then grabbed the ball and whistled it home with Penner bent on scoring.
But the throw was wide of Kayla Windigo’s mitt and found the backstop, allowing Penner to touch home safely for the Her-icanes’ first lead of the game.
“I was going home,” Penner said about her daring dash.
“The key for us was not quitting.”
After Ward plated Dal with an RBI grounder, Woodgate walked before Morningstar hit an RBI grounder to make it 9-6.
Just like in Game 1, late-inning defence helped carry the ’Canes to the finish line.
Ward, whose throwing error sparked the Babes’ big first inning, made up for it by snaring Jones’ line drive and then gunning the ball to Woolsey at first to erase Shana Windigo after a lead-off walk.
Taylor Windego singled to lead off the seventh as the Babes tried one last time to claw their way back.
Windego then stole second, screening Penner’s vision as the throw came from McMahon. The ball hit Penner square in the face—knocking off her sunglasses—as Windego scurried to third.
Penner—her left eye throbbing from the impact—remained in the game to make one more emphatic statement that this would be the Her-icanes’ night.
After Kayla Windigo’s grounder to Ward cut the lead to two, Alyssa Windego smashed a rising line drive.
But Penner climbed a ladder of air before shooting her glove skyward to make an outstanding grab.
With only Lynn Windego standing in the Fort’s way, Morningstar induced a come-backer to the mound.
The subsequent throw smacked conclusively into Woolsey’s glove to touch off an ecstatic group hug by the red-and-black.
“That last out, I threw my slider, then my change-up, then my high fastball,” noted Morningstar.
“I wanted to prove I had more than one pitch.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy [leaving Red Gut] but I wanted to prove who I was as a pitcher,” she added.
“Being on this team that allowed me to pitch [in the playoffs], I knew I had the stuff to compete and the stuff to win, and they were behind me 100 percent.”
